Rachel Brant. MBACP (Accred.)UKRCP (Reg.)

About me

I know how difficult it is to get 'unstuck' on your own whether you are 'stuck' in a relationship that doesn't seem to be working, desperately trying to get the happiness and love back into your marriage, feeling depressed, anxious, or maybe going through a major life transition, talking can really help...

I feel passionate about my work as a Counsellor and about the relationship that I make with my clients, I believe the relationship is at the very heart of healing. Clients often feel better after just a couple of sessions as they feel heard and really understood. I help you to understand your situation more clearly, and support you in finding your own solutions.

I offer short term focused and longer term open ended counselling depending on what feels appropriate to you as the client. I work with Individuals, Couple Relationships & Marriage. I work from Rode, Somerset which is within easy access of Frome, Bath, Bradford-On-Avon, Trowbridge, and Warminster.Sometimes it just really helps to talk...

HOW COUNSELLING CAN HELP:You may just feel that things don't feel right at the moment or you may have a clear understanding of why you feel the way you do and are looking for greater understanding and support in moving forward. There are many reasons that you might choose to come to counselling - these may include:

Relationships issues

Relationship breakdown

Affairs

Seperation & Divorce

Difficulties arising from patterns of relating to others

Abandonment

Panic Attacks, Anxiety,Stress

Depression

Anger

Inner Conflicts

Transitions

Loss and Bereavement

Redundancy

Issues arising from childhood

Abuse

Issues affecting young people

In an initial session we can explore what you would like to get out of counselling and whether it is right for you at the moment. and you can see if the approach I offer feels right for you. We can also make an initial agreement on the length of commitment. It is important that the therapy I offer is tailored to your needs as an individual or as a couple seeking help and support.

Short Term Counselling: which is usually for 6-8 weeks, this may be extended. Short term work is often focused on a particular crisis, transition or difficulty and can help you to feel clearer and work towards a resolution which will enable you to move forward in your life.

Longer Term open ended Counselling: involves a more in depth exploration of the issues which are causing difficulty in your life. These issues may be long standing or recurring. The work may involve looking at unhelpful patterns of relating from the past which impact your experience in the present, working with difficult emotional experiences or memories. In this work the client can become more aware of unconscious processes, understand and become more attuned to emotional responses in the body. Growth and change is possible. Long Term Counselling may involve supporting you through a bereavement, loss or major life transition.Counselling can provide a safe, confidential non judgmental space in which you can talk through and explore issues which may be causing you pain and difficulty in your life. The focus may be on a specific crisis or on a wider exploration of the origins of personal problems.Whatever your concern, the emphasis is on offering you a supportive and accepting space in which you can reach a clearer understanding of yourself and your present situation, helping you to find your own answers.Couple Counselling:

Relationships are fundamental to our well being; a place of safety, love, sexual and emotional fulfilment.

However there are times when relationship can feel surrounded in pain and confusion. The relationship stuck in repeating patterns that seem destructive to the two people involved. It can be difficult to understand what is happening. The couple become confused and disappointed in the dream they shared together.

Couples often come to counselling in crisis or transition with something in the relationship needing to end and something needing to grow. They want to feel better about themselves their partner and the relationship.

A couple may come to counselling because there is conflict over parenting children or concerned about the impact of relationship difficulties on children.

Couples often come during periods of transition; the birth of a new baby, children leaving home, life transition such as moving job, country, children leaving home, the impact of menopause, moving into retirement, or becoming unemployed – life changes mean transition and adjustment.

There may be a loss of intimacy and closeness in the relationship and yet you may be committed to growing together and understanding what is happening. For other couples the relationship may feel very stuck or broken. They may want to really understand what is happening and may need help to make a decision to end the relationship and find support in taking this difficult step. Infidelity in a relationship can be an enormously painful and difficult thing to face and is often a reason for seeking help.

It can feel like a difficult step to come to counselling together. My job as a couple counsellor is to help you both feel held, help you both to understand what is happening in your relationship, feel clearer in yourselves and able to make clear decisions and move forward in your lives.

Training, qualifications & experience

I live in Rode on the outskirts of Frome with my two sons. I have been a mother for 20 years and my oldest son finished university, my youngest a Teen. My first Degree was a B.Sc (Hons) in Home Economics and my early career involved running both my own and a number of businesses, I also worked as a Food Adviser for J.Sainsbury.

My career change came as a result of a difficult transition to Hong Kong and a slow and painful breakdown in my marriage. I became very "stuck" and it was at this point that I first went to counselling. In 1997 I complete a Foundation Course in Counselling at St. John's Cathedral Hong Kong. On returning to the UK I joined Bath Centre of Psychotherapy and Counselling in 2004 to train for a Counselling Diploma. These life experiences and my own personal struggle give me a real understanding of the difficulties my clients face both as individuals and couples in relationship and I bring the hope and belief that they can work through this to make life more fulfilling again.

In addition to my Private Practice I have many years experience of working both as a University Student Counsellor and as a Practice Counsellor within the NHS. I currently also work as a Relationship Counsellor with Relate Mid Wiltshire. . I am also a member of The Counselling Collective South West. A group of Counsellors and Psychotherapists who have worked within the NHS. As an Accredited member of bacp I am bound by their Code of Ethics and committed to my own on-going personal and professional development.